Blog #10: "The Tempest" obviously works in the realm of fantasy--magic, spirits, unlikely coincidences. Would you therefore describe it as a lighthearted, escapist work? Or is it a "serious" drama?

I view "The Tempest" as lighthearted, escapist work more than a serious drama. I view the drama in this light because of the atmosphere created by the play. Figments of our imagination such as faries and magic make the work appear to be less sophisticated because of these elements in the drama. These make the play look childish, innocent, and even naive. Plus, the drama itself focuses on the basic morals that humans learn when we are young, and also contributes to the play's overall innocence.

I view "serious" dramas as those that place new perspectives on human thinking. These plays most likely address issues in a new light, allowing the readers to argue against the basic teachings that society has taught about certain subjects. Many of these dramas describe situations that are typically not accepted in modern day society as well!

Blog #9: "A Doll's House" - What themes from this story have we encountered before? How would you compare the way these themes are treated in this play to the way they are treated in short stories or in poems?

What themes from this story have we encountered before? How would you compare the way these themes are treated in this play to the way they are treated in short stories or in poems?

There are a number of themes from "A Doll's House" that we have encountered before in pervious readings. The theme of masculinity or male dominance is present in both "A Doll's House" and "The Yellow Wallpaper." John, Emily's husband, believes to know what is best for Emily and controls her every activity. John is alike to Trovald, who controlled his own wife as if she was his own play doll.

The theme of womanly independence is present in both "A Doll's House" and "Chrysanthemums." In "Chrysanthemums," Elisa is a strong, independent woman who has a hard exterior, never showing any passionate emotions. In "A Doll's House," Nora gains her own independence at the end of the play, when she finally realizes how she appears in her husbands eyes, and leaves the household. 

& There are several more motiffs that run throughout many of the stories we have read in this class!

Blog #8: "Oedipus" - Is Oedipus really a tragic figure? Why or why not?

According to Aristotle's definition of a tragic figure, Oedipus accurately falls into the category of a tragic hero or figure.

- Oedipus is the main character in "Oedipus," a tragic play.

- Oedipus is noble: He gorges his own eyes out in punishment to himself once he realizes that he killed his father and married his mother.

- Oedipus is caring: He loves his family and is devistated for his daughters and son's newly discovered social rankings.

- Oedipus is a good man, but has a tragic flaw: his fate!

Blog #7: Discussing dramatic form

What problems did you encounter in translating a message to dramatic form? How did you overcome them?

One problem I encountered is rereading a line over several times before finding out the meaning of the line! Since the lines in the drama "Everyman" are not written in today's typical language, that people speak today, the words in the drama require more effort to decode. Personally, I looked up a quick summary of the work before reading the play in order to give myself a mantal image or guide lines that I would expect the play to follow. With these guidelines I was able to decode the meaning of many words and sentences much quicker, allowing me to read the drama in a reasonable time frame.

Also, the plays that everyone performed in class were so funny. :) There are several problems that we had to face in order to make our message as clear as possible in our play.
We had to make sure that everyone was aware of the different characters, so when we were performing we had to address the different characters with their names, so the audience will understand. However, in written drama, there's no need to state the names of every character!

Blog #6: How did your views of your poem change as you researched and wrote your paper? How did your views of poetry in general change?

The poem I chose for my research paper is "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath. Primarily, I thought that all aspects of the poem connected to the main theme of the poem, but after rereading the poem over and over and over again, I noticed many more connections between literary devices and the theme of the work as a whole. By writing this paper, I became even more knowledgeable about my poem, and this is great, because I was able to produce a great paper, but, on the other hand, I had to revise my essay so many times because I came up with better ideas!
In general, my viewpoint on poetry changed slightly. I've known that poetry contains several different interpretations and connections that weve throughout pieces of poetry. This project just reopened my eyes to how true that statement is.

Blog #5: Which poem are you using for your explication?

I am explicating the poem "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath.

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What attracted me to this poem was the personal emotions put into this poem by the poet. This poem is deelpy personal, discussing her relationships with men that result in betrayal, heartbreak, and even attempted suicide!

In another light, I might like this poem because it deals with overcoming a family member's death. Since I experienced the same thing, it is easier to relate to the poet's conflicting feelings in this poem.

Blog #4: Likes/Dislikes in Poetry

Which poem did you find most difficult? What questions do you have about the poem? Which poem did you find most accessible?

My favorite poem read in this class so far is "To his Coy Mistress" solely because of the last two lines:

Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.

I love it :) Perhaps it's because im female, and like mooshy lines like this, but I remember that when I read this poem the first time, I reread it a second time over because of those last lines and how they pulled at my heartstrings.

The most accessible poem however, was "The Chimney Sweeper." The theme of the poem was easily identifiable and the overlaping imagery of darkness and light was evident throughout the entire poem. I might find this poem the easiest to read because I always used to watch cartoon shows when I was younger, and the cartoons always dealt with good versus evil; evil being dark, and goodness being light. Since I always watched these cartoons, I am used to associating characters as either "good" or "bad," and it turns out that this poem has many of the same elements in the poem.

The most difficult poem for myself was "Cinderella." The poet changes up the entire story line of cinderella, having the prince cover the steps in "cobbler's wax" and the evil stepsisters cut off their toes and feet in order to fit into Cinderella's shoe! I understand that the poet is trying to convey the typical, perfect, fairytale in a different light, but I did not like the method he used in order to get his point across. Taking a child's fairytale and presenting it to an older generation does not seem very sophisticated and classy of the poet. It does not convey any puns or ironic twists that truly make the readers think about the poets message. This poem seems like a high schooler could of been the poet! Or maybe I'm missing an even deeper alegory in the poem? If anyone has anything to comment on "Cinderella," please do so!